Brian Cashman doesn't expect Yankees to make any more splashy moves this offseason
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks with the media before a game against the Nationals at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 23, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Brian Cashman wouldn’t say the 2024 Yankees are a finished product — he would never say that — but the general manager did make it clear that he thinks the roster is better than it was in 2023, when the Yankees went 82-80 in what Cashman has called “a disaster” of a season.
“I think we’ve improved,” he said on Thursday on a Zoom news conference. “I think our team was better than how it finished, regardless of last year. You’ve heard me say that already. But despite all that, we’ve, I think, jump-started in a lot of areas, especially the offense.”
Spring training starts in less than a month, and marquee free agents remain available, including NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and top closer Josh Hader.
But Cashman said the Yankees, who will top the $300 million mark in payroll, aren’t looking to make another big splash after trading for outfielders Juan Soto, Trent Grisham and Alex Verdugo and signing Long Island native Marcus Stroman.
“If we can run into some opportunities that make enough sense, it’s a possibility,” he said. “But otherwise, we do like what we have.”
If Cashman is done adding, much of the improvement will have to come from within. That means better performance and reliable health for bold-faced names such as Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Anthony Rizzo.
“The players that were here are very hungry,” Cashman said. “Got a bad taste in their mouths from last year’s experience, and nobody wants to have that experience again . . . We’re better than that. And our fans deserve better than that.”
Cashman said the slimmed-down Stanton is “in a really good place” with his offseason diet and conditioning, that Rodon “looks really good” and already is working out in Tampa, and that the reports he’s getting on Cortes after his shoulder issues are “fantastic.” Cashman said he wasn’t even thinking about Rizzo’s concussion problems from last season until someone brought it up.
Cashman said he hopes top prospect Jasson Dominguez, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, will be a factor “probably [in] the summertime . . . We’re going to need him.”
Stroman lauds Soto
Stroman has had very little success when facing new teammate Aaron Judge, who is 10-for-21 with four homers against him.
But Stroman said he thinks the best hitter in baseball is another new teammate: Soto, who is 3-for-10 with one homer against the righthander.
“I mean, he’s incredible,” Stroman said. “I’ve faced some good hitters, man, but I always tell everyone that Soto’s the best hitter I’ve ever faced. Just his knowledge of the strike zone is second to none. He probably knows a ball or strike better than the umpire does. And then his ability to just fire on pitches in the zone, his pitch recognition. He’s just different, man. He’s different.”
Stroman said this even though he is well aware of his numbers against Judge.
“I’m thankful to be Judge’s teammate,” he said. “If I take Judge’s numbers out in my career, I’d probably have a lot closer to a three ERA. So it’s good to have him on my side.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
